Introduction - LTC volume 18

Abstract

At the time of writing, the Occupy Central Movement (or the ‘Umbrella Revolution’, as it has become known in the international media) is in full swing in Hong Kong. Spearheaded by two professors and a Baptist minister, it dovetailed with local student movements and quickly expanded into a demonstration encompassing people from different walks of Hong Kong society. This movement was sparked by an electoral reform package imposed on Hong Kong by China, under which the only candidates for the city’s Chief Executive would be nominated by a committee likely to be composed of members acceptable to Beijing. The Chinese government insists that the system is a democratic one insofar as Hong Kongers would still be able to choose their leader through ‘one person, one vote’, but the Movement points out that the committee’s screening renders the voting process meaningless. The Movement was galvanised by the local police’s use of tear gas against the peaceful protestors, who have called for the repeal of the reform package, the re-opening of the dialogue on Hong Kong’s constitutional development, as well as the resignation of the city’s current, and highly unpopular, leader.